User reviews (4)

We stayed at the Alcatraz last month (April 2005). We loved it there. The dorms were nice and clean. Staff was very friendly and helpful. Internet Access was for free. We catched a dorm room with only 4 beds and paid 13 Euros per night. They have a kitchen, so you can prepare your own meals or join fellow travellers on the terrace at the courtyard. They rent bicycles for 5 Euros a day!!! (All the other places started with 15 Euros a day.) But one thing: book ahead for weekends.

I was surprised by the other review. Did he maybe mean another hostel? The neighborhood is great, it is save on the streets even at night and lot´s of clubs and pubs are around. Close to the line U2 (LOL! like the band's name), actually it´s in the middle between 2 stations: Eberswalder Str. and Schoenhauser Allee. I agree with the other reviewer, rooms are clean and nice. There is a shared kitchen and a common room and a lovely terasse with lot's of plants. What else to mention, I was happy they had no curfew or lock out. Internet access was available.

The Alcatraz hostel is a no frills hostel that provides a comfortable stay in quiet surroundings.
The hostel provided me, and the two friends I stayed with, our own room as booked at short notice (due to a very well known other hostel somehow forgetting our booking despite e-mailing us to confirm a few months earlier). The rooms are normal bunk bed orientated designs that provide a comfortable nights sleep (3 euros for sheets and a comfy pillow is good value in my opinion) that are clean and spacious. I cannot comment on if there were any safety lockup areas as we had a key to our room due to us being the only 3 staying in it.
There is a separate room for the bathroom that includes 2 sinks, a toilet and a shower. This bathroom is shared between two rooms and again seems to be very clean.
The location however is poor. Yes there is a metro station nearby that will suffice for daytime sightseeing but this closes around 1-2am leaving little time to go out clubbing in the centre if that is what you desire to do. Around the hostel there are a few restaurants, a useful supermarket and other stores that wont really tempt the average visitor. There are no clubs within a 30-minute or more walk so a quiet night in seems to be the best option unless you want an expensive cab ride.
The hostel when we went (April) has no real social life. There is a room to watch some German TV channels if you actually want to but this is a deserted area virtually all day long. A lack of any kind of bar is the main factor in the lack of socialising which undoubtedly is a great shame as this really is one of the best reasons to stay at a hostel. The staff are friendly and speak English but you cant help but feel like youre missing out on the social bonuses other hostels in Berlin would provide.
If you are looking for a quiet stay far away from the centre of Berlin then this is a good hostel to stay in. If however, you want to socialise with other tourists and visit nearby clubs and pubs give this a miss unless your preferred hostel mysteriously loses your booking information.

pros:
1-is very cheap. costs 10 a night.
2-is clean, even in toilets
3-employees are nice
4-beds are really comfortable
cons:
1-it is awfully located
2-the neighbourhood is bad
3-the building is old and ugly
is just to spend a spare night or something, not to remain for the whole stay in berlin.